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bleue-flora · 3 months

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So um, in light of my last post I was inspired to look into other dsmp people's ages because I feel like we don’t really think about it too often and oh does it make things interesting…

Just for reference and consideration, here are some United States Legal Age Minimums:

Drive: 16-18

Adult: 18-21

Vote: 18

Drink Alcohol: 21

Political Office: 25 (Representative) 30 (Senator) 35 (President)

Military: 17-18

Also Note: On average the brain is scientifically not fully developed until age 25 - and oh wouldn't you know it 90% of the server fall under that, meaning no wonder we have a bunch of wars their prefrontal cortex isn't fully developed and wouldn't you know it that part of the brain is responsible for regulating attention, behavior, and emotion as well as the processing that Actions Have Consequences... huh whelp that makes sense.

Anyways… age data is below (I didn't do everyone nor every event - nobody got time for that ;D... I didn't have time for this to begin with lol...) But I specifically want to highlight that not only was Dream 21 from Jan-Aug of his Imprisonment, but Sam was also 21 till Jun, and Quackity was literally 20 while he was daily torturing Dream... 20?! They were roughly a year apart, all of them so close. Like can you imagine, treating your peer like that? Sam is like a couple months older than Dream and that's it. Quackity can't even drink legally in the United States. That's insane...

(* to signify canonical Immortality)

Ok, so the full list of members and ages is at the bottom, but first, here are so key events I picked just to highlight their ages at the time.

Server Creation - April 24, 2020

GeorgeNotFound - 23 Callahan - 23 Dream - 20 Sapnap - 19

L'Manberg War - August 2, 2020

BadBoyHalo - 25 WilburSoot - 23 GeorgeNotFound - 23 Callahan - 23 Punz - 23 Eret - 21 Awesamdude - 21 Dream - 20 Fundy - 20 Skeppy - 20 Ponk - 20 Quackity - 19 Sapnap - 19 Niki Nihachu - 19 Jack Manifold - 17 Purpled - 16 Tubbo - 16 Tommy - 16

Pogtopia vs Manberg War - November 16th, 2020

Philza - 32* BadBoyHalo - 25 HBomb - 26 WilburSoot - 24 GeorgeNotFound - 24 Callahan - 23 Punz - 23 Karl Jacobs -22 Antfrost - 22 CaptainPuffy - 22 Eret - 21 Technoblade - 21* Awesamdude - 21 Dream - 21 Connor - 21 Schlatt - 21 Fundy - 21 Skeppy - 20 Ponk - 20 Quackity - 19 Sapnap - 19 Niki Nihachu - 19 Jack Manifold - 18 Purpled - 17 Ranboo - 17 Tubbo - 16 Tommy - 16

Exile - December 4, 2020

Ghostbur - 24 Technoblade - 21* Dream - 21 Ranboo - 17 Tubbo - 16 Tommy - 16

Doomsday - January 6, 2021

Philza - 32* HBomb - 27 Callahan - 23 Punz - 23 CaptainPuffy - 22 Eret - 21 Technoblade - 21* Dream - 21 Fundy - 21 Ponk - 20 Quackity - 20 Sapnap - 19 Niki Nihachu - 19 Jack Manifold - 18 Ranboo - 17 Tubbo - 17 Tommy - 16

Disc Confrontation - January 20, 2021

HBomb - 27 BadBoyHalo - 25 Callahan - 24 Punz - 23 Antfrost - 22 CaptainPuffy - 22 Eret - 22 Awesamdude - 21 Dream - 21 Ponk - 20 Quackity - 20 Sapnap - 19 Niki Nihachu - 19 Jack Manifold - 18 Ranboo - 17 Tubbo - 17 Tommy - 16

Quackity’s First Prison Visit - March 16, 2021

Awesamdude - 21 Dream - 21 Quackity - 20

Techno's Visit- June 6, 2021

Technoblade - 22* Awesamdude - 21 Dream - 21

Jailbreak - November 28, 2021

Philza - 33* HBomb - 27 BadBoyHalo - 26 George - 25 Callahan - 24 Punz - 24 Karl Jacobs - 23 Antfrost - 23 CaptainPuffy - 23 Foolish Gamers - 22 Eret - 22 Technoblade - 22* Awesamdude - 22 Dream - 22 Connor - 22 Fundy - 22 Skeppy - 21 Hannahxxrose - 21 Ponk - 21 Quackity - 20 Sapnap - 20 Niki Nihachu - 20 Jack Manifold - 19 Purpled - 18 Ranboo - 18 Tubbo - 17 Tommy - 17

Comprehensive List From Oldest to Youngest: Name - Date of Birth (Current Age) - [Join Date] Age when Joined

Philza- March 1, 1988 (36) – [Nov 16, 2020] 32 *Immortal*

HBomb- Jan 4, 1994 (30) – [Sept 22, 2020] 26

BadBoyHalo- April 2, 1995 (28) – [May 19, 2020] 25

Wilbur- Sept 14, 1996 (27) – [July 12, 2020] 23

GeorgeNotFound- Nov 1, 1996 (27) – [April 24, 2020] 23

Callahan- Jan 19, 1997 (27) – [April 24, 2020] 23

Punz- Jan 31, 1997 (27) – [July 7, 2020] 23

Karl Jacobs- July 19, 1998 (25) – [Aug 26, 2020] 22

Antfrost- Aug 27, 1998 (25) – [Sep 5, 2020] 22

Captain Puffy- Sept 18, 1998 (25) – [Nov 16, 2020] 22

Foolish Gamers- Dec 18, 1998 (25) – [Jan 16, 2021] 22 *Immortal*

Eret- Jan 9, 1999 (25) – [July 19, 2020] 21

Technoblade- June 1, 1999 (23) – [Sept 22, 2020] 21 *Immortal*

Awesamdude - June 8, 1999 (24) – [April 28, 2020] 20

Dream - Aug 12, 1999 (24) – [April 24, 2020] 20

Connor- Aug 26, 1999 (24) – [Nov 16, 2020] 21

Schlatt- Sept 10, 1999 (24) – [Sept 20, 2020] 21

Fundy- Oct 10, 1999 (24) – [July 7, 2020] 20

Skeppy- Jan 17, 2000 (24) – [July 18, 2020] 20

Ponk- April 18, 2000 (23) – [May 7, 2020] 20

Quackity- Dec 28, 2000 (23) – [Aug 11, 2020] 19

Sapnap- March 1, 2001 (23) – [April 24, 2020] 19

Niki Nihachu- Nov 3, 2001 (22) – [Aug 6, 2020] 18

Jack Manifold- Aug 14, 2002 (21) – [Aug 3, 2020] 17

Purpled- Oct 24, 2003 (20) – [July 9, 2020] 16

Ranboo- Nov 2, 2003 (20) – [Nov 17, 2020] 17

Tubbo- Dec 23, 2003 (20) – [July 7, 2020] 16

Tommy- April 9, 2004 (19) – [July 4, 2020] 16

They are all babies confirmed... things make so much more sense... brain development guys it's important ;)

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elizadushkudaily · 7 months

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March 2022. Eliza Dushku was an invited guest to the White House for the President signing the "Ending Forced Arbitration for Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Bill" into Law.

In November 2021, Eliza and other women testified before the Judiciary Committee of Congress in support of the bill. Eliza spoke about the sexual harassment she faced at CBS on the set of Bull.

Eliza also spoke against the practice of forced arbitration. (A forced arbitration clause in her contract meant she could not take her case against CBS to court.) The day after Eliza and the other women testified, the Committee voted in favor of the bill.

Excerpts below from her March 2022 Instagram post:

This new law will protect women & men from being bound by oppressive, unfair, secretive clauses in their employment contracts, clauses that protect abusers/harassers before they commit their shi**y acts. This has been the standard practice in the entertainment industry & MANY others for too long. This new law is being described as one of the most important labor/employment laws of the last 100 years.

For me, this was closure & a new beginning. Unexpected, surreal, humbling, validating, one of the most meaningful roles in my life/story.

You never know what the universe might present. When pain becomes a propellor to help others, when there was an opening to play a small part in something so much bigger than me, I’m feeling a modicum of real satisfaction & some true peace...

There’s more to be done... next up must be broader “forced arbitration” repeals to protect the rights of American workers in the context of wage theft, racial discrimination, & unfair labor practices. This is not partisan... it’s about right versus wrong. It’s good for all workers & for employers too.

Thanks, from the bottom of my ♥️ to my family, peeps, & fans for your enduring support.

Keep the faith 🙏

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(source) - Read more about Eliza's experience with forced arbitration in her Harper's Bazaar interview - Read more about Eliza's time on the CBS set of Bull in her Boston Globe editorial

#eliza dushku #instagram #social media #event #news #bull #reposted no editing #some cropping and excerpting but no other editing #old news but still news #kudos to Eliza for her role in getting this law enacted #and congratulations to Eliza so happy that she felt closure validation satisfaction and peace with this news

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shewhoworshipscarlin · 4 months

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Laphonza Romanique Butler

On October 1, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom chose well-known labor organizer and political strategist Laphonza Butler to be the next US Senator from California, following the death of long-serving Senator Dianne Feinstein on September 29, 2023. Butler, who was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris at the US Capitol on October 3, 2023, is the first openly LGBT Senator from California, the first Black lesbian in the US Senate, and the second Black woman to represent California in the Senate, following Vice President Kamala Harris. California must hold two concurrent Senate elections in March 2024: a special election to fill out the rest of Feinstein’s term in spite of there being an appointed Senator, and another election for the full six-year term beginning in January 2025.

Senator Butler’s career path includes labor, corporate, academic, and political engagement. Social justice has been her focus within these varied endeavors. Born in Magnolia, Mississippi, in 1979, Butler comes from a working-class family. Her father was a small business owner who died of a terminal illness when Butler was in high school. She saw her mother become the household’s sole provider for three children, working as a classroom aide, a home care provider, a security guard, and a bookkeeper.

Butler earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science at Jackson State University in 2001. After graduation she began a career as a labor organizer in several states, working with nurses, custodians, and hospital workers. In accepting her appointment, Butler said that she would strive to honor Feinstein’s legacy by “committing to work for women and girls, workers and unions, struggling parents, and all of California.” Her previous job as President of Emily’s List, which helps elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, means it is likely abortion rights will be an important part of the Democrats’ election strategy in 2024.

In 2009 Butler moved to California where she organized nurses as well as in-home caregivers, and became President of SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Local 2015 of United Long Term Care Workers; she also served as President of the SEIU State Council. Butler has served on the board of the Children’s Defense Fund, the political action committee BlackPAC, and the Bay Area Economic Council Institute think tank. In addition, she is the former director of the Board of Governors of the Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve System, and a former Regent of the University of California.

Butler is married to Neneki Lee. The couple has an 8-year-old daughter. Lee is the National Division Director for Public Services at SEIU. When she became President of Emily’s list in 2021, Butler and her family moved to Maryland while maintaining their home in Los Angeles. As of October, 2023, they have re-domiciled to Los Angeles and Butler has re-registered to vote in California.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/people-african-american-history/laphonza-romanique-butler-1979/

#historical #black history month #government

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 2 months

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

March 27, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAR 28, 2024

The news that NBC News reconsidered its invitation to former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel to become a paid contributor has buried the recent news about some of the other participants in Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Yesterday a judge in Minnesota ruled in favor of a warehouse owner who sought to evict MyPillow after it failed to pay more than $200,000 in rent. MyPillow chief executive officer Mike Lindell has complained that his company has been “decimated” by his support for Trump. His insistence—without evidence—that the 2020 presidential election was stolen has entangled him in expensive defamation lawsuits filed by voting machine companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic.

Lindell cannot pay his lawyers and claims to have “lost hundreds of millions of dollars,” but insists he is being persecuted “because you want me to shut up about [the] security of our elections.”

Also yesterday, Trump loyalist Kari Lake, who has pushed the idea that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, ran for Arizona governor in 2022, and is now running for the U.S. Senate, admitted she defamed Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer and that she acted with actual malice when she claimed he “sabotaged” the 2022 election. The request to admit to defamation came on the day that discovery, the process of sharing information about a case with each side, was to begin, suggesting that she preferred to admit wrongdoing rather than let anyone see what might be in her emails, texts, and recordings.

Arizona journalist Howard Fischer reported in the Arizona Daily Star that in a video statement, Lake said her admission did not mean she agreed she did anything wrong, although that is expressly stipulated in the court papers. She said she conceded because Richer’s lawsuit was keeping her off the campaign trail. “It’s called lawfare: weaponizing the legal system to punish, impoverish and destroy political opponents,’’ Lake said. “We’ve all seen how they’re doing it to President Trump. And here in Arizona, they’re doing the exact same thing to me.’’

One of Lake’s senior advisors said: “Kari Lake maintains she has always been truthful.”

Also yesterday, a three-member panel of the D.C. Bar’s Board of Professional Responsibility began a disciplinary hearing for former Department of Justice environmental lawyer Jeffrey Clark, who was so key to Trump’s plan to get state legislatures to overturn the results of the 2020 election that Trump tried to make him attorney general.

Clark joins Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who led the media blitz to argue—falsely—that the election had been stolen. Giuliani’s New York and Washington, D.C., law licenses were suspended in June 2021 after a court found that he made “demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers, and the public at large.” He is now facing disbarment.

Earlier this month, he said on his podcast that he expected to be disbarred because “[t]he Bar Association is going to crucify me no matter what. I will be disbarred in New York. I will be disbarred in Washington. It will have nothing to do with anything I did wrong.”

Today, after a long trial, attorney discipline judge Yvette Roland recommended that John Eastman, the lawyer who came up with the justification for using fake electors to overturn the 2020 presidential election, be disbarred. Eastman will immediately lose his license to practice law. The California Supreme Court will decide whether to disbar Eastman.

Eastman’s lawyer said it was unfair to take Eastman’s law license because he needs to make money to fight the criminal charges against him in Georgia, where he has been indicted for his part in the effort to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election there. For his part, Eastman maintains he did nothing wrong.

In her recommendation, Judge Roland compared Eastman’s case to that of Donald Segretti, the lawyer whose efforts to guarantee President Richard Nixon’s 1972 reelection included, as Roland’s recommendation noted, distributing letters that made false accusations against Nixon’s rivals (including a forged letter attributing a slur against French-Canadians to Maine senator and candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination Edmund Muskie). At the time, the court noted that Segretti was only 30, thought he was acting for Nixon, and did not act in his capacity as a lawyer. The court also emphasized that Segretti “recognized the wrongfulness of his acts, expressed regret, and cooperated with the investigating agencies.”

In contrast, Roland wrote, “[t]he scale and egregiousness of Eastman’s unethical actions far surpasses” Segretti’s misconduct. Segretti acted outside his role as an attorney, while “Eastman’s wrongdoing was committed directly in the course and scope of his representation of President Trump and the Trump campaign.” Roland also noted that while Segretti expressed remorse and recognized his wrongdoing, Eastman has shown “an apparent inability to accept responsibility. This lack of remorse and accountability presents a significant risk that Eastman may engage in further unethical conduct, compounding the threat to the public.”

One by one, those who worked with Trump to overturn the election are being held to account by our legal system. But still, they refuse to admit any wrongdoing.

In that, they are following Trump.

Despite Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order, Trump continued today to attack both Merchan and his daughter. On his social media site, Trump posted that Merchan was trying to deprive him of his “First Amendment right to speak out against the Weaponization of Law Enforcement, including the fact that Crooked Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, and their Hacks and Thugs are tracking and following me all across the Country, obsessively trying to persecute me, while everyone knows I have done nothing wrong!” Trump posted in great detail about the judge’s daughter, accusing her of making money by “working to ‘Get Trump,’” based on images shared by an old social media account of hers that had been hacked.

It was President Nixon who perfected the refusal to admit wrongdoing in the face of overwhelming evidence. Even after tapes recorded in the Oval Office revealed that he had plotted with an aide to block investigations of the break-in at the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate Hotel by invoking national security and Republican Party leaders told him he needed to resign, he refused to admit wrongdoing. Instead, he told the American people he was stepping down because he no longer had enough support in Congress to advance the national interest. He blamed his fall on the press, saying its “leaks and accusations and innuendo” were designed to destroy him.

Gerald R. Ford, the president who replaced Nixon, inadvertently put a rubber stamp on Nixon’s refusal to accept responsibility. Believing it was better for the country to move past the divisions of the Watergate era, Ford issued a preemptive pardon for any crimes the former president might have committed against the United States while in office. Ford maintained that the acceptance of a pardon was an admission of guilt.

But Ford’s pardon meant Nixon never faced legal accountability for his actions. That escape allowed him to argue that a president is above the law. In a 1977 interview with British journalist David Frost, Nixon told Frost that “when the president does it…that means that it is not illegal,” by definition.

As Nixon did, Trump has watched those who participated in his schemes pay dearly for their support, but he appears angry and confused at the idea that he himself could be held legally accountable for his behavior.

But without accountability, as Judge Roland noted, there is no incentive to stop dangerous behavior. Josh Dawsey reported last night in the Washington Post that since Trump has taken over the Republican National Committee and purged it of former employees, those interviewing for jobs are being asked if they believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Other questions, Dawsey reported, include “what applicants believe should be done on ‘election integrity’ in 2024.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #Jan 6 2021 #MAGA #lawyers #accountability #election fraud #election tampering #unethical conduct

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agendermetalbender · 1 year

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Begin article transcript:

[“First of Its Kind” Illinois Law Will Penalize Libraries That Ban Books

Illinois public libraries that restrict or ban materials because of “partisan or doctrinal” disapproval will be ineligible for state funding as of Jan. 1, 2024.

By The Associated Press

Published on 6/13/2023 at 5:48 PM

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday signed into law a bill that he says will make Illinois the first state in the nation to outlaw book bans.

Illinois public libraries that restrict or ban materials because of “partisan or doctrinal” disapproval will be ineligible for state funding as of Jan. 1, 2024, when the new law goes into effect.

“We are not saying that every book should be in every single library,” said Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who is also the state librarian and was the driving force behind the legislation. “What this law does is it says, let’s trust our experience and education of our librarians to decide what books should be in circulation.”

The new law comes into play as states across the U.S. push to remove certain books in schools and libraries, especially those about LGBTQ+ themes and by people of color. The American Library Association in March announced that attempts to censor books in schools and public libraries reached a 20-year high in 2022 — twice as many as 2021, the previous record.

“Illinois legislation responds to disturbing circumstances of censorship and an environment of suspicion,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation.

Downers Grove Democrat Rep. Anne Stava-Murray sponsored the legislation in the Illinois House of Representatives after a school board in her district was subject to pressure to ban certain content from school libraries.

“While it’s true that kids need guidance, and that some ideas can be objectionable, trying to weaponize local government to force one-size-fits-all standards onto the entire community for reasons of bigotry, or as a substitute for active and involved parenting, is wrong," Stava-Murray said Monday at the bill's signing, which took place at a children’s library in downtown Chicago.

Despite Giannoulias' assertion that “this should not be a Democrat or Republican issue,” lawmakers' approval of the bill splintered across party lines, with Republicans in opposition.

“I support local control,” said House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, a Republican who voted against the measure, in an emailed statement. "Our caucus does not believe in banning books, but we do believe that the content of books should be considered in their placement on the shelves.”

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By CLAIRE SAVAGE]

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#this is amazing #good news

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fatehbaz · 1 year

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When Dr Harold Young [...] takes visitors on a journey around Belize City, the first stop is an unremarkable building, whose basement entrance is partly shrouded by creeping pink bougainvillea. Its padlocked gates and broken windows back on to a parking lot in the city’s historic centre. Most passersby ignore the innocuous plaque outside. Belize, a country of 400,000 citizens, is [...] a part of the English-speaking Caribbean. A former British settlement and then colony, it is one of the region’s eight remaining Commonwealth realms – independent countries where the monarch remains the head of state.

Belize is the only Commonwealth realm King Charles has never visited.

The building is blocked from public entry but is known locally as the former headquarters of a TV station [...] once owned by the Conservative peer Lord Michael Ashcroft, who has sprawling business investments around Belize. But for those who are aware, the building serves as a horrifying reminder of the brutality of British rule here. “It’s the last remnants of a holding dungeon for slaves,” Young says. “Before they were put out for sale.”

Unlike the island states in the Caribbean, where plantation slavery underpinned the colonial economy, enslaved labour in Belize revolved around the logging of mahogany at camps in the country’s interior. [...] [T]he remnants of violent enslavement are now mostly absent from public view. The building’s story has been passed down for generations, and is noted in certain tourist literature. But the historic plaque outside, while acknowledging its use in the mahogany trade, presents its connections to slavery merely as “local folklore”. “When you live in a colonial environment, the colonialists don’t want you to prove what they were doing was a horrendous trade, right?” says Young, who is Belizean Creole, meaning of mixed African heritage. [...]

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History is still not fully told. Crimes remain unacknowledged. [...]

But as the United Kingdom prepares to crown its new king, the citizens of Belize are laying the groundwork for a similarly historic event: they could be the first nation to remove Charles as head of state. [...] The process, the prime minister [...] acknowledged in an interview [...] means it is “quite likely” that Belize will be the next country to leave the Commonwealth realm, following Barbados’s seismic decision to become a republic in 2021. [...] Belize is not alone [...].

[D]iscussions over the future of the British monarchy have accelerated throughout the region.

Now, officials in seven of the remaining realm countries in the Caribbean have indicated they will seek to follow the same path [...]. In Jamaica, [...] the government has committed to a vote before the next general election in 2025. In Antigua and Barbuda, the prime minister [...] said shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth that he would hold a referendum within three years. [...]

Such debate is far from new to the English-speaking Caribbean and did not begin with Barbados’s decision in 2021, nor the death of Queen Elizabeth last year. Carried by a wave of Black nationalism and socialism, three former British colonies, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and the newly independent Dominica, removed the monarch as head of state throughout the 1970s. Alternatives to the crown had been debated in popular circles long before even then. [...]

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Still, symbolism and imagery of the current moment [...] matter, particularly as relations between the English-speaking Caribbean and the UK fall to new lows in the aftermath of the Windrush scandal and both the government and the monarchy’s recent refusals to go beyond passive expressions of regret and offer a formal apology for the atrocities of slavery.

In March last year, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit to the Caribbean marking the Queen’s jubilee was punctuated by a series of protests that cast a long shadow over the exercise in soft power. In Jamaica, photographs of the pair shaking hands with children through a chainlink fence and later parading in white clothing in an open-top Land Rover were decried as a throwback to colonialism.

In Belize, the couple were forced to abandon plans to visit a Mayan village in the country’s south, following protest. [...] “There’s only so much the fig leaf of public relations and exercises in ‘soft power’ can cover,” [...]. “These images and videos were widely shared on social media [...].” Outside St John’s Cathedral in Belize City, the remains of a semicircular brick wall mark the boundary from where, it is said, enslaved people were permitted to listen to services inside. The building itself was built by enslaved labour, but colonial authorities banned enslaved people from entering.

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Text by: Oliver Laughland. “‘Colonialism lingers’: Belize shrugs off coronation amid calls for repatriations.” The Guardian. 4 May 2023. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

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into-the-mikuverse · 1 year

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Round 1 Left Side Primary Matchups

Third Alice (Alice of Human Sacrifice) vs Supreme (World is Mine)

Celebration (Project Diva Module) vs Vampire (The Vampire)

Black Rock Shooter (Black Rock Shooter) vs Michaela (The Daughter of White)

15th Anniversary (Good Smile Figurine) vs Breathe with You (Two Breaths Walking)

Honey Whip (Sweet Devil) vs Wonderlands x Showtime (Project Sekai)

Aimaina (PinocchioP) vs Infinity (The Intense Voice of Hatsune Miku)

Ghost (Ghost Rule) vs Calne Ca (Baterial Contamination)

Margarita Blankenheim (Gift from the Princess Who Brought Sleep) vs Cutie Angel (Seraphim of the Ring)

Round 1 Left Secondary Matchups

Sailor in Love vs Wonderland Rapunzel

Wonderland Puss in Boots vs LAM Rock Singer

Etoile (Lilia and the Skeleton Orchestra) vs Punk Miku (Atelier Hiro)

Digital Stars 2021 vs Brilliant Butterfly (Project Diva Module)

My Little Pony vs Café Maid

Racing 2016 Team Ukyo vs Ultimate Miku (Project Diva Module)

Miku with You 2020 vs Tropical Summer

Room Wear vs Trick or Miku

Links in name are for the module’s respective song, no link means this Miku design has no song attached to it. Credit for background image goes to @vocaprideflags on Twitter!

Voting for Round 1 Secondary Bracket begins March 10, 12:00PM PST.

Round 1 Primary Bracket voting will begin March 11, 12:00PM PST.

Voting will last 24 hours for both.

#into the mikuverse #round 1 #primary tournament #secondary tournament #Hatsune Miku #vocaloid #miku #polls #info

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samyelbanette · 9 months

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In May 2021, I saw some random shitpost saying “Finland’s Eurovision act is giving the emo kids everything they want.”

Being an MCR stan at the time, I was like hm? well, I’m an emo kid. let’s see what this is about.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could watch the recording of the Semifinal, legally, on Peacock. I had watched ESC once before, in 2016. But for years after that, there was no way to watch the contest in my country (at least, not without a special cable television package that I obviously didn’t have 😭). It’s never been a popular show in the United States. But.

I saw Blind Channel perform Dark Side and I immediately thought omg, they sound just like Linkin Park. I tend to think of LP as a nu-metal band, and not an emo one. But I went through a huge LP phase back in high school, so ofc I loved the song.

I demanded that my friend (who, like most Americans, had never heard of ESC up until that point) come over and watch the Grand Final with me. He went out and ordered a copy of Violent Pop the next day.

….Ironically, it took me longer to get into BC. Like. The day after ESC ended, I watched the Died Enough For You MV on YouTube, and I thought it was great. But my mind was (hyper)focused on someone else.

Måneskin won ESC 2021, and I developed an immediate special interest in them (along with a huge crush on Damiano lol). This house was in a Teatro D’Ira lockdown. I had no interest in listening to anything else but that - and Il Bello Della Vita - on repeat. I watched all the interviews and obsessively worked on a Damiano/Reader fanfic.

But then in August, something happened. My laser focus on Må began to fade. Balboa was released as a single. BC performed at Allas Sea Pool. And suddenly I was reading Niko/Joonas fics every day.

My one-track mind had switched to a different track. And there was no going back.

In October 2021, I wrote Flufftober With Blind Channel (a huge reader-insert oneshot collection). As of rn, that’s still my #1 most kudos-d fic on AO3. 😅 And then in December, I wrote my first Joeleksi fic, as part of a holiday gift exchange.

I watched Blind Channel perform on Finnish television for New Year’s Eve. And when February came, I watched them perform again at UMK 2022. I cheered for The Rasmus when they won the competition, but they never stole my heart. BC still owned it.

On March 3rd, 2022, I finally saw BC live for the first time. It was in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, on Day 1 of their tour with From Ashes To New. Their first performance on American soil.

And then on April 11th, 2022, I saw them again, at their headline show in New York City. I had the honor of meeting one of my fellow fanfic writers, pastlink! And then I met Niko and Joel after the show. 😍

It was one of the best days of my life.

Time continued to pass. ESC 2022 came and went. Kalush Orchestra were…fine. They deserved to win, but they didn’t stay on my mind after the credits rolled. Not like BC did.

LOTSAD dropped in July 2022, and it was everything I’d hoped it would be.

In October 2022, I wrote Flufftober With Blind Channel 2, this time focusing on M/M relationships.

On November 18th, 2022, I saw Måneskin live for the first time (ironic, given that I loved them first). It was at this show that I had the honor of meeting another BC writer, lnights, in person. 🖤

Then, in December 2022, I moderated my first ever fandom event - BC Blood Mass. There was some controversy in the beginning, but it ended up being a huge success. I’m still so grateful to everyone who participated.

On May 13th, 2023, the ESC Grand Finals came around again. And I finally got to do something, that I hadn’t been able to do in 2021 (or 2022): vote for Finland. 🇫🇮

On May 16th, 2023, I saw BC live for the third time, when they returned to the US and opened for Lacuna Coil. This time, I got a picture with Joel, Joonas, Olli, and Aleksi. It ended up on Joel’s Instagram story, and when I checked my notifications the next day, I got emotional.

Dozens of people from Finland and Germany and other places around the world, who I would’ve never encountered without this silly band, were saying:

Look. That’s Kelley. We know her. She’s our friend.

….And now it’s September. Goddamn. I’ve been in this fandom for two years now. I’ve written thirty-four BC fics. And I’ve made so many amazing friends. There have been many times where y’all have been kinder to me than my own family. I’m so happy to have gotten to know all of y’all.

…And there’s still more to come!!!

BC Blood Mass is coming back for December 2023. BC’s fifth album is going to drop sometime in 2024.

I can’t wait to see where this Wolfpack takes me next. 🐺🇫🇮🖤

#I got emotional and rambly about BC lol. sorry. 😅

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nodynasty4us · 3 months

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From the March 18, 2024 story:

On Saturday in Dayton, OH, while campaigning for Senate candidate Bernie Moreno (R), Donald Trump gave his take on immigrants: "I don't know if you call them people. In some cases they're not people, in my opinion. But I'm not allowed to say that because the radical left says that's a terrible thing to say." If they are not people, what are they? We know: vermin. He already told us. He previously said they were "poisoning the blood of our country." Then Trump continued: "If I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole—that's going to be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country." He clearly sees the Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt as the out-of-town tryout. The real show will begin on Jan. 6, 2025. Does he mean it? Angelou would say yes. Joe Biden's campaign spokesman, James Singer concurred: "This is who Donald Trump is." Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told CNN's Dana Bash yesterday: "We just have to win this election because he's even predicting a bloodbath." But Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) defended Trump, saying: "But you could also look up the definition of bloodbath, and it could be an economic disaster." In the next few days, we expect more Republicans to defend Trump. They are all scared witless of him. ... Trump is clearly ramping up the rhetoric to work his base into a frenzy and make sure every last one of them votes. He doesn't care if that offends everyone else, as he believes that if all his supporters vote, that will be enough. It is an unusual strategy. Most politicians try to use dog whistles when getting controversial messages through to their base, but Trump doesn't care who hears him. He thinks it worked in 2016 so it will work again ... Trump is going to run a very dark campaign, calling America a dystopian place, a real hellhole. This is a 180-degree turn from Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America" or Barack Obama's "Hope." Trump has a good feel for what his base wants. Many of them feel marginalized, unheard, and looked down upon, so to them, maybe America is a dystopian place. The ironic thing here is that many of his supporters live in quiet rural areas where people generally get along and neighbors help each other, hardly the dystopia Trump is imagining. Believing Trump requires them to have two contradictory visions of America in their heads at the same time.

#donald trump #political violence #2024

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workersolidarity · 1 year

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Part II: The Origins of the Ukraine War

We left off discussing the origins and organizational structure of Far-Right Paramilitary Groups in Ukraine and their integration into the Ukrainian Military.

President Petro Poroshenko had banned the Russian language from government service, the DPR and LPR had declared a form of independence from Ukraine and after years of shelling the Donbas, finally had agreed to the Minsk II Accords.

Ukraine never implemented the Minsk I or Minsk II Accords, instead using the ceasefire as cover to reconstitute their military, with Fascist Paramilitary Forces forming the backbone of the new Ukrainian Military, fully armed, trained and funded by the US and NATO.

Starting in late 2021, the US began urgently warning Ukraine that a Russian invasion was imminent. But Ukrainians and the Ukrainian Coup Government brushed off the warnings, convinced no such invasion would occur.

On March 24th, 2021 newly elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, himself a Russian speaking Ukrainian comedian, issued a decree calling for the recapture of Crimea, the Southern Ukrainian coast peninsula on the Black Sea that voted to join the Russian Federation in 2014. This despite running on a campaign to end the hostilities in the Donbas and calling for the end of the political repression against Russian speaking Eastern Ukrainians.

Note that even as Western media denies such repression was occurring in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky was openly calling for the end of the repression that supposedly never existed.

Again, Vladimir Putin refused to acknowledge the independence of the breakaway Republics, instead referring to it as an internal Ukrainian matter that had to be handled between the warring parties. He was essentially reaffirming his commitment to Minsk II even as the Kiev regime escalated its flagrant violations of the agreement and continued its efforts to renegotiate a new agreement with more favorable terms. They had hoped to use their random shelling and airstrikes of civilian areas to pressure DPR and LPR officials into agreeing to more favorable terms, but the two breakaway Republics refused and instead continued with the implementation Minsk II.

The US meanwhile had other plans. On February 11th, President Biden announced that Russia would invade Ukraine in the next few days. To this day, it's a mystery how Biden knew this information or where they got this idea. But what was clear, was the visible increase in shelling by the Kiev regime, this despite Western media remaining completely silent on the subject. Outside the West, the increase was noticed and reported on, but inside Western media there was radio silence accept for the occasional article that claimed the increase in shelling to be "Russian disinformation".

However, even within Western media, you can see the increase in shelling reported as "explosions" in order to obscure the blame as in this Reuters article from February 19th 2022:

But even then, reading between the lines you can put it together. Shelling in the days leading up to Russia's invasion saw exponential increases in shelling, and Jacques Baud puts this down to US pressure on the Ukrainian govt. Sabotage and reconnaissance missions by Ukraine also increased dramatically in the run-up to the SMO alongside the shelling.

And this is EXACTLY what the US wanted in Ukraine. The entire point of these attacks was to put Vladimir Putin in an impossible position: either he could continue to allow the killing of innocent civilians in the Donbas while pursuing a peace that never comes, all the while Ukraine is building up it's Forces and collecting weaponry from Western governments; or he could intervene, bringing on an onslaught of Western Sanctions, public rebuke and economic sabotage.

And so, on February 21st 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the Independence of the two breakaway Republics, the DPR and the LPR, and on February 24th, he ordered the beginning of the Special Military Operation.

In his speech on February 24th, Vladimir Putin laid out two objectives for the SMO: to Demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. Not to conquer Ukraine, not regime change, not a territorial grab, a DEFENSIVE operation to protect the Russian speaking Ukrainian citizens of the Donbas.

And despite the non-stop propaganda out of the West, that's exactly what the Russian operation in Ukraine has been doing. They are fighting an attritional war designed to grind down Ukrainian Forces until they collapse and return to the negotiating table.

But to be perfectly honest, it would seem like some of this has changed in light of more terroristic operations launched by the Kiev regime more recently in the War. From the Nordstream pipeline explosions, to the shelling of populated cities using HIMARS and other US and NATO weaponry, to the attacks into Russian territory in the Belgorod region, what we see is Ukraine targeting civilians in an attempt to sew panic, confusion and the distrust of Russian authorities.

In response to these changes in tactics by Kiev, Moscow seems to be making its first tentative suggestions that it may not choose to stop with the Donbas any longer, but instead feel they must put a buffer between the Donbas, Russia and the central Ukrainian State. I'm not too sure how these changes will manifest just yet, but presumably Russia might be planning to break the Ukrainian summer offensive before marching deep into Central Ukraine, or they might just continue on as they have, slowly taking territory as they defeat Ukrainian Forces and post up in their positions.

No one can say for sure. But what matters is that there may no longer be a willingness on the part of the Russian Federation to negotiate with Kiev, even if the Summer offensive fails and Ukraine sues for peace. At this point, Russia may be thinking this can only end with a major negotiated settlement between the Western Powers and the Russian Federation, and may feel any negotiations with Kiev will just be pointless since the US and NATO run the show.

And so, the rest is history.

Regardless whether you feel Russia was unjustified in the invasion or not, ignoring the role played by the US, NATO, the EU and the Ukrainian Coup-Government itself is dishonest and does nothing to help solve the situation. As hundreds die every day on the frontlines, the US media continues pretending that Vladimir Putin just woke up one day and decided he wanted Ukraine and so he invaded.

This ludicrous narrative is perhaps more dangerous to Ukrainian civilians than the Russian SMO itself, as it works on the premise that Russian officials are simply War Criminals and Terrorists who want Ukrainian territory and resources at all cost (despite fighting this war in a way that would be contrary to such goals) and you cannot negotiate with such people. And so the war drags on and the deaths pile up daily, and Ukraine continues mobilizing its people to fight this war.

I felt I had to put all this together because we're now living in a world in which declaring an inconvenient truth results in your immediate association with foreign actors and specifically Vladimir Putin, the West's favorite punching bag.

These inconvenient truths are regarded with disdain while ignorance and propaganda are celebrated...

at the cost of Ukrainian lives.

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shaken-veil · 2 years

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It’s Dragon Age Day, so let’s talk about Dragon Age DND!

I always wanted to play DND. But all projects and parties that gathered have never really come to pass. And since I couldn’t find anyone who was willing to DM around that time, I decided I would maybe want to give it a shot.

The original DND content didn’t really appeal to me.. until a special someone provided me with the necessary kick.

So this journey starts in early 2021, when @roguescorner provided me with a sheet about Dragon Age DND. It contained some technical stuff, classes, transferred stuff from 5e to a homebrew setting. It was the foundation of what would become one of the , if not THE biggest, biggest things I have ever worked on.

I got to work. Wrote up a baseline, gathered friends to play, taught myself all the needed basics of being a DM, worked tirelessly through nights and days to make this happen. I offered 3 different scenarios to my players at the beginning, where they wanted to start.

A trip into the Deep Roads into the Free Marches after an earthquake.

Stranding on the distant shores of the Amaranth.

Investigate the Tirashan Forest after farmsteads were burned down.

The Majority vote went to the Tirashan, so this is where our adventure starts.

The 16th of April 2021 was our very first session.

We are now on Session 25. It’s been a ride...

(Continue under the cut)

My players are:

Played by @dngrs-untld-hrshps-unnmbrd. A Dalish runaway Rogue (5e Class also Rogue), who had no intention of marrying the arrogant arse hunter Yeros, just because she had some fun times with a Qunari mercenary and her Clan was butthurt about it.

Played by @ianazavi. The young Keeper of Clan Sylmaris (5e baseclass Druid). Certified hyperactive sweetheart, history buff and nerd, was send out by the Clan Elders to find the runaway Ash as first act of her being the new Keeper. There is a lot of complicated history there that I can’t fit here...xD

Played by @seigephoenix. A human mercenary (5e class Fighter), warrior and voice of reason in the group. Accepted a job from Enzo to be his bodyguard as he went about his personal quest. Half Orlesian, half Fereldan. Now also known as ‘Marquis Montclair’ after her grandfather’s passing. Oh boy... Orlesian nobility. Oh and of course don’t forget Baron, Eli’s trusty Mabari hound.

Played by @eatingbubbles. A human mage and necromancer from Tevinter. Searching Thedas with the help of his Nevarran master’s manuscript, he tries to unlock the secret that this ancient tome holds. He also let an eldritch parasite live in his head for a while and loves graveyards a lot.

Now that I introduced my party to you.. We can’t forget..ME! haha. I’m playing obviously all the NPCs in this campaign, but there is one that is very note worthy. Which is, of course, our Ancient Elvhen Forgotten One.

Played by yours truly. Time & Gravity Arcane Warrior. (This is also thanks to @roguescorner she gave me the idea about the time magic.) Daern’Thal was rescued by the party during their adventures in the Tirashan forest by the mad priest Fenar, who aimed to steal Daern’Thal’s power while he slumbered in the long sleep. He joined the party on their journey to learn more about this new and unfamiliar world he woke up to.

Now that that’s out of the way, here are some of my favorite moments, so far.

The very first Boss battle. I’m a Fromsoftware fan, through and through. My party knows this. The bossfights look according to this. Several phases, unforgiving of slip ups, general madness and horror. The first real bossfight of the campaign was against Highpriest Fenar, who sought to raise an army to overrun Orlais to end the tyranny of the humans and rob Daern’Thal of his power to do so. It was a very special moment for me, first of all I was very drunk during that boss fight and somehow that made it even more epic. The party defeats Fenar without actually killing him, handing him over to his daughter Fioris to take care of him.

Yaz’tori.. Yaz is an ancient being who was locked away in a deep pond in the Tirashan forest. After an initial scare and against the words of our dear Eli, Enzo took it upon himself to host this eldritch being within his brain, taking her along with them to investigate the Forest and it’s secrets. Come as it must, Actions have consequences. Yaz’tori betrays the party after receiving her own body in an ancient laboratory of Ghilan’nain below Val Royeaux. She drains Daern’Thal of most of his power as he tries to protect the party and then runs away to gather more power for a goal unknown.

The Ball in Val Royeaux. After a few eventful days in the Orlesian Capital, the party attends a the ball of Lady Basseaut. Daern’thal wears clothes made out of pure magic, doing constant Wisdom checks to see if he drops them. (Sadly he did not). As it is Orlesian custom, the ball escalates really quickly. Ashryn is locked in a burning room for sneaking around, Eli tries to save her grandfather and Daern’Thal murders Lady Basseaut in a fit of rage, learning what she did to his friends.In the aftermath, Reginald Montclair passes and gives his title of Marquis to Eli.

The Vaterrals.. Ari and Enzo literally annoying Ash and Eli so long until they can purchase a small, juvenile Vaterral in the Elvhen city. Enzo names him Spido, how original. As thanks for their service to the city, Fioris grants the party another fully grown Vaterral, which Ari bonds to and names her Aranea.

Meeting Era’len, Abelas and Curiosity. Early in the Campaign the party comes across a spirit of curiosity guarding a secret entrance to a clearing in the Tirashan. The party solves their riddles and they let them pass to meet Era’len, who will become the future mentor NPC for them, and her grumpy partner Abelas. It was all in all SO awkward. Wonderful. Loved that.

That’s just a few moments that really stood out to me. But the most recent bossfight was also very special.. With Eli attacking her own party.

Tomorrow, Monday, we enter a new plotline. The party is currently at level 5, just survived a major traumatic battle where Ari actually died, but was brought back to life by Enzo with necromantic powers later on.

I am beyond excited to see how far we go with this campaign, the places we get to visit, the epic battles we are going to have, the tears we are going to shed and the joy that comes with a job well done. Without our shared love for Dragon Age this would have never been possible.

Also without my dear friend GN/Cryptid a lot of these moments would have never have happened. He is my sounding board, offering me ideas, pointers and outside perspective all the way so far. Thank you, without you this campaign wouldn’t be the same.

Playing DND with you guys has made my life richer in a lot of ways and I hope you feel the same.

ALSO love to the tinfoil club for constantly listening to my ideas and my rambling. Love you @hvitperle @TheWellOfForever (RACHEL WHERE IS YOUR TUMBLR) & @roguescorner

SO Happy Dragon Age day to us. Cheers.

Love,

Jules - Your DM, The All-mother, Elvhen Slut God and Maker of Crabs

#dragon age day #dragon age #dungeons and dragons #dnd #dragon age dnd

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music-addiction-disorder · 1 year

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So... last weeks poll ended with only 4 votes (myself included), i guess most of you didn't like Trouble or just aren't familiar with the band. I hope you guys aren't tired of these kinda posts yet, because i think they are a fun way to delve in and celebrate the bands we all love. Anyhow, last weeks winner was Trouble's 1989 self titled album with 50%. This also was my favorite because it got me into the band when i first saw the video for "Psychotic Reaction" on Headbangers Ball. I think it's the perfect match in sound between the first 3 Trouble albums and the 2 that followed.

A good friend of mine (@goblinkleaver) suggested this weeks band ZZ Top, because last week (on March 23rd) was the 40th anniversary of their 8th studio album "Eliminator". It was the album that got me into ZZ Top. The hit singles "Gimme All Your Lovin", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" were all over the radio.

I was 13 at the time (1983), when Eliminator was released and i remember i actually nicked my first copy on cassette from a local record store. But it was the album that came afterwards that is my all time favorite, 1985's "Afterburner".

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I think this weeks band needs no further introduction, if you aren't familiar with ZZ Top.. you've been livin' on another planet. But just in case, here's a short bio...

ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. The band consists of guitarist and lead vocalist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and bassist and co-lead vocalist Dusty Hill who is replaced (to Dusty's wishes) by former basstechnician Elwod Francis after Hills death july 28 2021. The band and its members went through several reconfigurations throughout 1969, achieving their current form when Hill replaced bassist Billy Etheridge in February 1970, shortly before the band was signed to London Records. Etheridge's departure issued primarily from his unwillingness to be bound by a recording contract.

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Since the release of the band's debut album in January 1971, ZZ Top has become known for its strong blues roots and humorous lyrical motifs, relying heavily on double entendres and innuendo. ZZ Top's musical style has changed over the years, beginning with blues-inspired rock on their early albums, then incorporating New Wave, punk rock and dance-rock, with heavy use of synthesizers.

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ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. As a group, ZZ Top possesses 11 gold records and 7 platinum (13 multi-platinum) records; their 1983 album, Eliminator, remains the group's most commercially successful record, selling over 10 million units. ZZ Top also ranks 80th in U.S. album sales, with 25 million units.

Also... if you haven't yet, checkout this documentary!

"ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas" (2019) 👇👇👇

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Ps, if you vote please also reblog, the more people will do so the more this post will spread and the better the outcome and results will be. A big "thank you" in advance to anyone who will partake in this! Yours truly: @necro69mancer 🤘🍻

Oh, and also... suggestions for future polls are always welcome! 😎

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whenitsdarkweilluminate · 8 months

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Lisbon 2018 – Grand Final

Host: Portugal Slogan: “All Aboard!” Participants: 43 Voting method: 12-point system (50/50 system - separated) Format: 2 Semi-Finals / Grand Final = the top 10 of semi 1 & 2 + the Big 5 + host

Winner: Netta - Toy Country: Israel Points: 529 (52.5% of highest score possible) Language: English

General Overview:

I kept putting off reviewing 2018 because I remembered it being a “meh” year. I was dissatisfied in the winner. Many of my faves didn't qualify. And most of the songs seemed forgettable? After all this writing, I'd still rank 2018 towards the bottom of the decade, but it's ahead of 2011 and 2017 at least. For reference, my fave contest of each decade would be: 1956, 1969, 1977, 1980, 1997, 2009, 2012 and 2021.

The opening sequence is exactly same as the two semi-finals (ie. the montage of local people and culture). But since it's the Grand Final, there is an opening act this time! It begins with someone playing a Portuguese guitar, then Ana Moura and Mariza sing some fado music. Mariza's song includes a soft-sounding marching band across the stage. The flag parade happens next, with two DJ's playing contemporary beats to soundtrack it. There's also sailors holding the flags.

Then it's the host introductions. Like I said in SF1, I enjoyed their comedy this year. I especially loved Filomena in the Green Room. And lol at the hosts insinuating that the shirtless stagehand was naked underneath the graphic. There was also a dedication to Lys Assia, who passed earlier in 2018, which was nice.

The interval isn't as bloated as other recent contests. It starts with Branko playing some tranquil dance music, featuring 4 different soloists, one at a time. First it's Sara Tavares (from the 1994 contest) holding a long note, then Plutónio raps, followed by Dino D'Santiago singing inside this silhouette visual effect, and finally Mayra Andrade is joined by dancers on the walkway. They have soothing voices. Next, there's a video on why it took Portugal 53 years to win. Then Suzy from 2014 makes a surprise appearance. And lastly, Salvador Sobral performs two songs: a piano ballad called “Mano a mano” (meh to this one), where he pounds the piano casing at one point, and a reprise of his winning song, as a duet with Caetano Veloso.

The postcards involve the artists exiting a door in places where a door shouldn't be. Like on top of a cliff or something. They aren't attached to a building. Which makes them look like portals. It's as if the artists teleported to Portugal from their home country. Upon entering Portugal, they explore the area and do an activity. Then they take a selfie, as “#AllAboard” appears on screen. Then the flag colours are displayed on a sea anemone graphic. And lastly, there's an adjustment sound to start each performance. The portal doors are what I associate with 2018, like the hallway in 2017.

The stage is designed like a gyroscope. The performance platform is the center circle, with 3 gigantic rings overhead, kind of like archways. Each ring is on a different inclination/angle. There's also a circular walkway ramp cutting through the audience that acts as the 4th ring (on a 0° angle). On either side of the stage, there is a bridge that connect to the ramp. And just like 2010, there is no LED screen. Instead, the back of the stage is constructed of wavy vertical bars.

2018 was a battle between Israel and Cyprus… but not according to the juries. They put Austria and Sweden top 2, which the public weren't as fond of. Early on, the jury vote was a tight race between those 4 countries and Germany. Then it became a battle between Israel and Austria. Then Sweden caught up with Austria. In the end, Israel won the televote, putting them way ahead of both. As for the correspondents: Sweden's Felix Sandman wore Benjamin's merch and Latvia's Dagmāra Legante made a Kanye West joke.

Ukraine: Mélovin - Under the Ladder 3rd year in a row where the SF2 closer opens the Grand Final. I did not expect the juries to rank this last.

Spain: Amaia & Alfred - Tu canción This is like the sweetest love song ever. Yeah, the couple broke up a few months later, but most relationships don't last anyways. Feelings change over time. You live in the moment, and this was how they felt in May 2018. On stage, they look smitten with their cute smiles and eye contact. The opening shot shows them standing far apart in dark lighting, while the audience's phone lights shine behind them. Then the camera spins around Alfred and zooms in on Amaia, as they trade lead vocals. Afterwards, the pair slowly walks towards each other. They hold hands, they embrace. And the camera continues spin around them at certain points. The song itself is a classy, old-fashioned, stuffy ballad. But it also has a tender, romantic texture and a very nice melody. Plus Amaia & Alfred's voices are sweet. “Tu canción” starts with slow, sparse piano notes. Said piano increases in the first chorus, where the strings sneak in. Then the second verse/chorus adds in low-key percussion and makes the strings more noticeable. While the bridge sees the instrumental quiet, then intensify, then stop upon the final chorus. Then the song finally “bursts open”. That “OHHH OHHH” build-up is very effective. I also like the “Siento que bailo…” hook. The lyrics involve Amaia & Alfred expressing their love to each other. Alfred says flying to the moon now feels real; Amaia says his voice shelters her. It's very lovey dovey.

Slovenia: Lea Sirk - Hvala, ne! “STOP THE MUSIC!”

Lithuania: Ieva Zasimauskaitė - When We're Old

Austria: Cesár Sampson - Nobody but You

Estonia: Elina Nechayeva - La forza

Norway: Alexander Rybak - That's How You Write a Song A semi-final winner placing 15th in the grand final is unexpected.

Portugal: Cláudia Pascoal - O jardim Better than the song they won with. This did not deserve last place, although 39 points is pretty high for that. I can see how “O jardim” was overlooked though – not much happens in the song. There's no big melody, no epic climax. Instead, the song's purpose is to maintain a specific mood. That mood is peaceful grieving. Isaura wrote “O jardim” about her late grandmother. The lyrics repeat the phrase “Now that you're not here, I'll water your garden”, as if this thought keeps circling in her mind. She literally takes care of her grandmother's garden to keep her memory alive. The verses don't translate to English very well, however. The music starts with slow, sad piano notes. Then this subtle anxious sound is added underneath, followed by tiny acoustic tings. Then, from 1:36-2:07, the beat switches to a series of metal spring sounds and inconsistent jittery taps. It's a cool sound and it's my favourite part. It doesn't change the mood either. This is also when Isaura comes on stage and turns “O jardim” into a duet. The ending is minimalist and like a light howl. “O jardim” is all about simplicity. Doing anything extra wouldn't work. Cláudia gives a sensitive vocal too. She seems tearful at the end. On stage, she starts in a dark silhouette. She closes her eyes. She sways a bit. There's spotlights behind her. The stage doesn't feel like it's missing anything though. I also like how Cláudia's voice jumps out at certain points.

United Kingdom: SuRie - Storm The UK is back to flopping. “Storm” is infamous for the stage invader, but the Grand Final video on YouTube replaced her performance with a rehearsal. SuRie sings this with genuine compassion for her family, but the song is bland. The chorus is 'whatever' to me, both melodically and lyrically. The “Toge-e-ether” and “sto-o-orm” hooks are weak. And the lyrics are basic. The “spread your love...” bridge is climactic though. In the verses, SuRie addresses her brother, sister, mother and father one at a time. She reminds her siblings of their childhood worldview (their fearless hopes and dreams), and says she still believes in this stuff. Then she asks her mom if she did good enough. The chorus is her reassuring they'll overcome the storm together. It's an uplifting song with a straightforward message. But it lacks depth I guess? The instrumental only grabs my attention in a few spots too. The song starts with the piano, but quickly adds foot taps, squeals, submerged quivers and finger snaps. The chorus then diminishes back to the piano, before it accelerates via heavy claps; leading the second half bulldozing through with drums and whirls. The second chorus also starts dramatically, with stomps and sawing strings instead. The bridge uses dramatic boom-claps as well. Later, the song returns to the piano before the last chorus. And the outro repeats the bridge lyric. On stage, SuRie stands at the front of a tunnel made of lit-up squares. There's also pyro upon the last chorus.

Serbia: Sanja Ilić & Balkanika - Nova deca Actually her voice is kind of annoying.

Germany: Michael Schulte - You Let Me Walk Alone The only time Germany wasn't bottom 2 during 2015-2023. All it took was a personal, sincere, down-to-Earth ballad to reach top 5. That's how Ireland kept winning! But it sounds like an Ed Sheeran ballad, and I don't like Ed Sheeran (I also hear Adele's “Someone Like You”). The “1-2-3” hook (“1 love / 2 hearts / 3 kids”) is kinda annoying too. And the lyrics are messy. In the song, Michael reflects on growing up without his father, who passed away when Michael was young. However, the wording of “one love”, “loving mum” and “You let me walk this road alone” makes it sound like his father chose to abandon him. There's no mention of a “loving dad”. Still, if this were written in another language, would I even notice? Lines like “I was told that you were too” and “My childhood hero will always be you” still get to me. He sees his father in himself. He misses his father when he needs guidance. His dad provided protection and wisdom. Musically, the verses follow a quick back-and-forth piano. Then the piano is more pronounced in the chorus. The strings come in later. There's an “oh oh oh” bridge. Plus some crashes towards the end. And the drums enter to carry the final chorus. I'm not crazy about this arrangement, but I don't mind the “every now and then” hook. The stage starts darkly lit. Then, a semi-circle LED screen acts as a lyric video behind Michael. It also shows family photos, which really pulls at the heartstrings. And there's hypnotic images during the bridge.

Albania: Eugent Bushpepa - Mall

France: Madame Monsieur - Mercy France is my #2 again! “Mercy” tells the harrowing, but fortunate, story of Nigerian refugee Taiwo Yussif giving birth on a rescue ship. She named the baby “Mercy”. The title is play on words, since “merci” means “thank you” in French. The lyrics are from the POV of the baby. She recounts how her mother fled the war at home. They had nothing to lose. The sea (or “blue immensity”) became the enemy. She was lucky to even be born (“They offered me a hand / And I'm alive”). The song addresses how not every refugee has a happy ending like this. Many of them don't make it. The title implies they deserve mercy. The instrumental and Émilie's voice capture the mood of this situation well. It's a bleak and distressed vibe, but with a message of perseverance. The song starts with minuscule guitar plucks and finger snaps, followed by some cowbell(?). Then a snap-shut transition starts the chorus, which has a fuller sound, and includes distorted cry responses and some “pippity pips” appearing midway. The chorus has a great melody too. The song later quiets for the bridge. And the outro repeats a chant of “merci, merci”, as the duo pushes their hands forward, and the audience joins in. Maybe they could've done something more with the stage though. They're dressed in funeral black. They walk forward in unison. The camera follows her across the stage bridge. And they're on the audience ramp for the “merci, merci” chant. But it needed something more.

Czech Republic: Mikolas Josef - Lie to Me HE DID THE FLIP!!

Denmark: Rasmussen - Higher Ground It's just missing something to make my top 10.

Australia: Jessica Mauboy - We Got Love This could've been an anthem.

Finland: Saara Aalto - Monsters A borderline qualifier that flopped in the final.

Bulgaria: Equinox - Bones

Moldova: DoReDoS - My Lucky Day

Sweden: Benjamin Ingrosso - Dance You Off “With 21 points... Sweden”

Hungary: AWS - Viszlát nyár I think he screams even more in the final.

Israel: Netta - Toy (winner review below)

Netherlands: Waylon - Outlaw in 'Em

Ireland: Ryan O'Shaughnessy - Together

Cyprus: Eleni Foureira - Fuego

Italy: Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro - Non mi avete fatto niente I was puzzled by the 249 televote points... until I realized “Non mi” references several, then-recent, terrorist attacks (Cairo churches, La Rambla Street, 2015 Paris attacks, London Bridge, the truck in Nice). Plus 9/11 “skyscrapers” and 7/7 “subways”. Most of these happened in Eurovision countries. It must've struck a chord. The lyrics are also displayed in various languages so viewers can understand them, along with faces in the fonts. The chorus is an emphatic “You did nothing to me”, saying the terrorists didn't win. Life continues. It's just “pointless wars”. The song doesn't hide the horrific reality either: “blood in the sewer”; “arms without hands”; “mothers without children”. It also finds commonality in religions, dismisses racism, and says mass murder isn't a valid belief. And that “the smile of a child” shows resilience. This is a wordy, lyrically dense song. The duo sings SO quickly to cram everything in that it makes the melody ineffective, despite the up-and-down pattern. I also dislike Fabrizio's hoarse screams at the end, even if it expresses fury. Ermal wails after the bridge too. The instrumental is restless though. It starts with a twinkly guitar and light stomps, then light jingles. There's some slam-downs in the first chorus. Then the second verse increases the tempo into a folksy scared running drum beat. There's some guitar wails later. And the bridge quiets down when they walk to separate bridges. “Non mi” has a strong message and it isn't a cheesy peace song; but it's just not something I seek out much.

The Winner:

Israel achieves their 4th win, exactly 20 years after their 3rd... which was exactly 20 years after their 1st. I guess they'll win again in 2038? Between “Diva” and “Toy”, Israel's results were all over the place: 4 top 10s, 6 NQs, and several times in the bottom half of the scoreboard. The juries ranked “Toy” 3rd, but Netta's 317 televote points were more than enough. Weirdly, the semi-final was the opposite, where the juries were more favourable than the public.

This is an annoying song, but the chicken noises make it worse. “Toy” starts a cappella, with Netta making a bunch of strange mouth sounds (“*bird trill*, ouch, hey!, hm, la!”). Then the backing comes in and she starts clucking like a chicken. This irritating intro lasts for 20+ seconds. It's such a “WTF” moment. It makes for a memorable first impression, but it turns “Toy” into a borderline joke entry. Once the instrumental starts, there's some “Ethnic pop” elements. Verse 1 contains casual hand drums, bass stomps that stop every few seconds, and a couple short jerks. Then the pre-chorus diminishes to a soft synth, before building up with beeps and a squeaky sound, as Netta clucks again. Then the chorus roars and bulldozes through (with more beeps), followed by a string-y post-chorus that rolls around, where the backing shouts “CULULUU”. Those “CULULUU”s are almost as irritating as the chicken noises. This is a weird criticism, but the chorus sounds too much like a Eurovision song. I get bored of it. The second verse starts with video game pew-pews. Then the bridge interrupts the second chorus, leading to a big vocal note on “BOYYYYY”, which transitions to the next string-y bit. The song pulls back again partway through the last chorus. And Netta finishes on another big note (“TOYYYYY”). The song is vengeful and in-your-face and Netta brings attitude and personality. The backing responses of “not your toy/stupid boy” are catchy too.

But the message is hard to take seriously when it's communicated in such a silly way. The lyrics were inspired by the #MeToo movement (“I'll take you down now!”), where Netta rejects being a man's toy, calling him a “stupid boy”. Her vocal has a bratty, ridiculing, and immature tone. She says the boys are too loud and forgot how to play the game. She doesn't care about their money or the “modern-time preachers”. And she makes chicken noises to insinuate he's a coward (like when someone goes “bawk bawk bawk”). The lyrics also mention childhood interests – teddy bear, Barbie, Simon Says, Pikachu, dolls, Wonder Woman – which adds a darker layer to this. The narrator sounds like a little girl. “You're stupid just like your smart.. PHONE!” is a funny line though. There's even a smartphone ding during it. “My Simon Says 'leave me alone'” is clever too, with respecting consent. And “Barbie got something to say” challenges the Barbie stereotypes. There's also a couple Hebrew phrases (“ani lo buba” and “stefa”) and the Japanese word “Baka” (stupid person). But I also think “On the MadaBaka beat” is a censored version of “MF-ing beat”. Apparently “Trump-pam-pau” is a Trump reference too. The lyrics say a lot... in the verses anyways. “Stupid boy” is a childish insult.

On stage, Netta is dressed in a kimono, with two bookcases full of golden cat figurines wagging their tails behind her. She also uses this touch pad thing, which spells the word “H-E-Y”. Meanwhile, the camera will cut to the 3 backing dancers making funny poses and dance moves. They start on the stage bridge, but join Netta later on. And everyone is on the audience ramp at the end. They also flap their arms like a chicken during the clucking. And there's some pyro for the first chorus. The dancers are funny at least.

Ultimately, this, “I Wanna” and “Hard Rock Hallelujah” are the closest to a novelty song winning. I don't think this is what Salvador had in mind during his winning speech... it must've been awkward to hand Netta the trophy. Also, Jack White was later added as a songwriter for similarities to “Seven Nation Army”... I don't hear it.

Verdict: “D” Tier. Catchy but everything about this is annoying.

My Ranking:

Grand Final: 01. Cyprus: Eleni Foureira - Fuego 02. France: Madame Monsieur - Mercy 03. Estonia: Elina Nechayeva - La forza 04. Slovenia: Lea Sirk - Hvala, ne! 05. Austria: Cesár Sampson - Nobody but You 06. Portugal: Cláudia Pascoal - O jardim 07. Moldova: DoReDoS - My Lucky Day 08. Lithuania: Ieva Zasimauskaitė - When We're Old 09. Denmark: Rasmussen - Higher Ground 10. Czech Republic: Mikolas Josef - Lie to Me

11. Ukraine: Mélovin - Under the Ladder 12. Australia: Jessica Mauboy - We Got Love 13. Finland: Saara Aalto - Monsters 14. Germany: Michael Schulte - You Let Me Walk Alone 15. Sweden: Benjamin Ingrosso - Dance You Off 16. Serbia: Sanja Ilić & Balkanika - Nova deca 17. Spain: Amaia & Alfred - Tu canción 18. Bulgaria: Equinox - Bones 19. Italy: Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro - Non mi avete fatto niente 20. Israel: Netta - Toy 21. United Kingdom: SuRie - Storm 22. Ireland: Ryan O'Shaughnessy - Together 23. Netherlands: Waylon - Outlaw in 'Em 24. Albania: Eugent Bushpepa - Mall 25. Hungary: AWS - Viszlát nyár 26. Norway: Alexander Rybak - That's How You Write a Song

Full Ranking: 01. Cyprus: Eleni Foureira - Fuego 02. France: Madame Monsieur - Mercy 03. Estonia: Elina Nechayeva - La forza 04. Switzerland: Zibbz - Stones 05. Slovenia: Lea Sirk - Hvala, ne! 06. Austria: Cesár Sampson - Nobody but You 07. Belgium: Sennek - A Matter of Time 08. Armenia: Sevak Khanagyan - Qami 09. Latvia: Laura Rizzotto - Funny Girl 10. Portugal: Cláudia Pascoal - O jardim 11. Moldova: DoReDoS - My Lucky Day 12. Lithuania: Ieva Zasimauskaitė - When We're Old 13. Denmark: Rasmussen - Higher Ground 14. Malta: Christabelle - Taboo 15. Czech Republic: Mikolas Josef - Lie to Me 16. Ukraine: Mélovin - Under the Ladder 17. F.Y.R. Macedonia: Eye Cue - Lost and Found 18. Greece: Yianna Terzi - Oniro mou 19. Poland: Gromee feat. Lukas Meijer - Light Me Up 20. Australia: Jessica Mauboy - We Got Love 21. Finland: Saara Aalto - Monsters 22. Germany: Michael Schulte - You Let Me Walk Alone 23. Croatia: Franka - Crazy 24. Sweden: Benjamin Ingrosso - Dance You Off 25. Serbia: Sanja Ilić & Balkanika - Nova deca 26. Spain: Amaia & Alfred - Tu canción 27. Bulgaria: Equinox - Bones 28. Belarus: Alekseev - Forever 29. Italy: Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro - Non mi avete fatto niente 30. Israel: Netta - Toy 31. San Marino: Jessika feat. Jenifer Brening - Who We Are 32. Azerbaijan: Aisel - X My Heart 33. United Kingdom: SuRie - Storm 34. Ireland: Ryan O'Shaughnessy - Together 35. Montenegro: Vanja Radovanović - Inje 36. Netherlands: Waylon - Outlaw in 'Em 37. Romania: The Humans - Goodbye 38. Albania: Eugent Bushpepa - Mall 39. Russia: Julia Samoylova - I Won't Break 40. Hungary: AWS - Viszlát nyár 41. Norway: Alexander Rybak - That's How You Write a Song 42. Iceland: Ari Ólafsson - Our Choice 43. Georgia: Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao - For You

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 1 year

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enablers standing by

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

March 8, 2023

Heather Cox Richardson

Andrew Restuccia, Richard Rubin, and Stephanie Armour of the Wall Street Journal today published a preview of President Joe Biden’s budget, due to be released tomorrow. Their article’s beginning sent an important message. Biden’s budget plan, they wrote, will “save hundreds of billions of dollars by seeking to lower drug prices, raising some business taxes, cracking down on fraud and cutting spending he sees as wasteful, according to White House officials.” Those officials said that, over the next ten years, the plan would cut deficits by close to $3 trillion. Reflecting the needs of Ukraine to fight off the 2022 Russian invasion, as well as tensions with China, Biden will call for a larger defense budget. As he outlined yesterday, part of the budget plan will fund the Medicare trust fund for at least another 25 years, in part by increasing tax rates on people earning more than $400,000 a year. “That is not going to happen. Obviously he knows that,” Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) told the Wall Street Journal reporters. “Republicans are not going to sign up for raising taxes.” Without a budget plan of their own to offer, House Republicans appear to be trying to steal the president’s thunder. They told Tony Romm of the Washington Post that they are getting ready for the House Ways and Means Committee to begin consideration tomorrow of a bill to prioritize the national debt in preparation for a national default. House Republicans continue to insist they will not vote to raise the debt ceiling to pay for expenses already incurred—many of them under Trump—thus forcing the U.S. into default for the first time in our history. They are suggesting they could rank the debts in order of importance, but as Brian Riedl, an economist at the Manhattan Institute, told Romm, the computer systems were written with the assumption the country would, in fact, pay its debts, and they do not have programs that would let them prioritize payments to one group or another. In any case, the White House has refused to negotiate over paying the nation’s bills. It remains eager to discuss the budget with Republicans and to negotiate over it—which is how the process is supposed to proceed—but insists the Republicans cannot hold the nation hostage by threatening a default that would spark an international financial crisis and destroy the American economy. Indeed, the willingness of the Republican Party to default on the country’s debt shows how thoroughly radicalized it has become. Even the Republican leaders who do not embrace the racism, sexism, religiosity, nihilism, and authoritarianism of the hard-core MAGA Republicans appear to believe they cannot win an election without the votes of those people. And so the extremists now own the party. They continue to support former president Trump, who at the Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend promised “those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution.” The party is now one of grievance and revenge, feeding on their false conviction that Trump won the 2020 election. The Fox News Channel was key in feeding that Big Lie, of course, and filings from the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit against the Fox News Network have revealed that Fox executives and hosts alike knew it was a lie. They continued to spread it because they didn’t want to lose their base. On Monday, Fox News Channel personality Tucker Carlson, who has found himself badly exposed by the Dominion filings, threw himself back into the Trump camp. He showed a false version of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, suggesting it was a mostly peaceful tourist visit rather than the deadly riot it actually was. Carlson’s false narrative was possible because House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gave Carlson exclusive access to more than 40,000 hours of video taken in the Capitol on that fateful January 6, illustrating that there is no daylight between the lies of the Fox News Channel and the House Republican leadership. Outrage over that transaction has sparked a backlash. Former officer of the Metropolitan Police Michael Fanone, who was badly injured defending the Capitol on January 6, published an op-ed at CNN saying he knew for certain that Carlson’s version of that day was a lie. “I was there. I saw it. I lived it,” Fanone wrote. “I fought alongside my brother and sister officers to defend the Capitol. We have the scars and injuries to prove it.” Former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) tweeted that if the House Republicans want new January 6th hearings, “bring it on. Let’s replay every witness & all the evidence from last year. But this time, those members who sought pardons and/or hid from subpoenas should sit on the dais so they can be confronted on live TV with the unassailable evidence.” Senate Republicans also spoke out against Carlson’s lies. Minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) aligned himself with Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger, who called Carlson’s piece “offensive.” McConnell said: “It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way that’s completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks.” Democrats, along with the White House, also condemned Carlson’s video. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said the White House supported the Capitol Police and lawmakers from both parties who condemned “this false depiction of the unprecedented, violent attack on our Constitution and the rule of law—which cost police officers their lives.” Bates went on: “We also agree with what Fox News’s own attorneys and executives have now repeatedly stressed in multiple courts of law: That Tucker Carlson is not credible.” But McCarthy says he does not regret giving Carlson access to the tapes, and Carlson indicated that anyone who objected to the false narrative he put forward on Monday had revealed themselves as being allied against the Republican base. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-KY) are organizing a visit for members of Congress to visit the jail where defendants charged with crimes relating to the January 6th riot are behind held. In the past, Greene called those defendants “political prisoners of war.” Today the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the 2023 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community. It warned that transnational “Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists” (RMVEs) continue to pose a threat more lethal to U.S. persons and interests than do Islamist terrorists. RMVEs are “largely a decentralized movement of adherents to an ideology that espouses the use of violence to advance white supremacy, neo-Nazism, and other exclusionary cultural-nationalist beliefs. These actors increasingly seek to sow social divisions, support fascist-style governments, and attack government institutions,” the report said. They “capitalize on societal and political hyperpolarization to…mainstream their narratives and conspiracy theories into the public discourse.” They are recruiting “military members” to “help them organize cells for attacks against minorities or institutions that oppose their ideology.” Finally, John Bresnahan of Punchbowl News reported that 81-year-old Senator Mitch McConnell fell at an event at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., tonight and has been hospitalized.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Political cartoon #budget #finance #Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #Director of National Intelligence #treat to democracy #House Oversight Committee #anti-democratic #coup plotters #disinformation #FAUX news

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ausetkmt · 9 months

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Hon. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. President of the United States 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500

RE: Creating a federal commission by executive order by Juneteenth to study and develop reparations proposals for African Americans

Dear President Biden,

Now more than ever, we know that many of the racial disparities that weigh this country down, and divide people in the US from each other, are unnecessary and can be eradicated if we address the ongoing legacy of enslavement. By righting our wrongs, we can make sure that all families in the US get a fair chance to acquire land, to buy a home, to enjoy good health, and to live without fear about tomorrow. That is why we write to request that you create by Juneteenth an expert commission like that which would be established by a bill in Congress, H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act.[1]

As 365 civil rights, human rights, and faith-based organizations and dozens of activists, leaders and celebrities that support H.R. 40 pointed out in a letter on February 4,[2] addressing pervasive anti-Black racism and providing reparations, long overdue, cannot wait another day, year, or decade. We are in a once-in-a-lifetime moment that we cannot let slip away if we are to begin the process of repair.

You have seen first-hand the dire need and ardent demand for repair. Last June, you visited Tulsa and spent time with the three remaining survivors of the race massacre that decimated Black Wall Street. Your historic trip fixed a spotlight on the three known race massacre survivors 107-year-old Viola Ford Fletcher, 107-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle, and 101-year-old Hughes Van Ellis, on massacre descendants, and on the Black Tulsa community that continues to reel from the effects of white supremacy. Calls for federal action on reparations were loud and ubiquitous during your stay, coming from massacre descendants,[3] rights organizations, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus.[4]

This week, nearly a year after your visit, several of this letter's authors met again with the three known massacre survivors in Tulsa and massacre descendants, where in a courtroom they made their case for justice. As they race against the clock to secure reparations from the City of Tulsa, we implore you to seize on H.R. 40’s historic momentum by creating a federal reparations commission while the window is still open.

We hope that you will take this opportunity to make good on the promise that you and Vice President Kamala Harris made to Black voters outlined in the Lift Every Voice: The Biden Plan for Black America.[5] In this campaign plan, you pledged to tackle systemic racism and the continuing impacts of slavery by“supporting a study of reparations.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki is quoted as saying you support a study of reparations and White House senior advisor Cedric Richmond said that you support H.R. 40 specifically.[6] It is important to seize this chance to show up for those who have for too long weathered discrimination, abuse, and neglect in their tireless efforts to make this country into what it can and must be.

The US Congress made history when, on April 14, 2021, the House Judiciary Committee voted to move H.R. 40 to the House floor for full consideration, the first time in the bill’s 32-year history. The bill now has a record level of support with 215 members of Congress committed to voting “yes” when the bill comes to the House floor. This is far more than the bill has ever had and it should pass in the House if voted on. In addition, on March 12, 2022, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) passed a resolution of support for reparations and H.R. 40.[7] But considering US Senate dynamics and timing—there are just a few months left before the end of this 117th Congressional session in January 2023—we are calling on you to work with supporting organizations and House sponsors of H.R. 40 to set up the same commission by executive order by Juneteenth this year.

Juneteenth presents you with an important opportunity to commemorate the end of enslavement while also recognizing much more still needs to be done to create equity and real opportunity for African Americans in the US beyond declaring a national holiday. The Black to white racial wealth gap remains vast, with white households having a median of $188,200, 7.8 times that of Black households at $24,100,[8] a vestige of the legacy of enslavement—which can find its roots in redlining, the Homestead Act, and denying Black people access to federally backed home mortgages—and the failure to address the exploitation, segregation, and violence unleashed on Black people that followed. Moreover, the ongoing impacts of enslavement have resulted in deep psychological harms, including by way of forced separation and collective trauma, which require comprehensive remedy. The Covid-19 pandemic has only widened the inequality. It is also important that this commission be established by Juneteenth so that it can start working and issue recommendations before the next presidential elections.

H.R.40 would establish an expert commission to study the legacy of enslavement and how the failure to address harms stemming from it have resulted in huge racial disparities between white and Black people in: the ability to accumulate wealth and to access health care, education, housing and employment opportunities; environmental outcomes; and policing, among other things. The commission would also recommend proposals for how to provide repair for what the study reveals. This bill does not authorize payments or any specific remedy. It simply creates a commission to study the problem, gather relevant information, extensively involve and consult with impacted communities, and recommend solutions. Like the federal commission that investigated the forced relocation and wrongful incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, an H.R. 40-style commission can help pave the way for a critical and truthful reckoning and accounting for past harms and the present harms that flow from them.

As states, cities, and other institutions, including the state of California; Wilmington, Delaware; Providence, Rhode Island; Burlington, Vermont; Tullahassee, Oklahoma; Greenbelt, Maryland; Detroit, Michigan; Evanston, Illinois; Georgetown University; the Jesuits; and others pursue reparations at an accelerated pace,[9] it would be sheer irony for the federal government, which sanctioned the kidnapping and trafficking in human beings that slavery entailed, and maintained subsequent anti-Black laws and institutions, to continue to lag behind and circumvent real progress on reparations.

It is in Tulsa where you so powerfully and unequivocally stated: “the only way to build a common ground is to truly repair and to rebuild.”[10] As the 101st anniversary of the massacre approaches, and racial disparities continue to keep communities across the US divided, we could not agree more.

For the above reasons, and those stated in our February 4, 2022, letter referenced above, we hope that we can count on you to take this meaningful first step toward achieving racial justice and realizing reparations for centuries of ongoing harm. We ask that you create a federal commission to study and develop reparations proposals for African Americans similar to that of H.R. 40 by Juneteenth this year. We stand ready to work with you to ensure this happens and kindly request a meeting as soon as possible to discuss the details. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA) Color of Change Reparation Education Project Rainbow PUSH Coalition Faith for Black Lives Black Church PAC Black Voters Matter Fund Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference Church World Service NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice The Union for Reform Judaism Friends Committee on National Legislation Presbyterian Church U.S.A. National Consumers League Batrice & Associates Reparations 4 Slavery Make it Plain Live Free USA Until Freedom Nikkei Progressives Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress Japanese American Citizens League San Jose Nikkei Resisters National Nikkei Reparations Coalition Terence Crutcher Foundation Human Rights Watch United Church of Christ, Justice and Local Church Ministries

Cc: Vice President Kamala Harris, Ambassador Susan Rice, and Senior Advisor Cedric Richmond

#Why We Can't Wait Coalition Urges Biden to Create Federal Reparations Commission by Juneteenth #Reparations #Reparations Commission #Freedmen #Black Freedmen

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fruitysewerrat · 9 months

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Are Splatfests rigged?

Last week another Splatfest reached its conclusion. However, instead of celebrating the winner, Shiver, many voiced their disappointment and began doubting the validity of Splatfests.

A big surprise for all players was that Shiver had over 50% of the votes despite many people facing Frye’s and Big Man’s teams an equal amount. Her popularity and recent win streak, named Shiversweep, made many people start questioning whether or not the results are rigged.

To put things into perspective, Splatoon 2 had 31 overall Splatfests with Pearl winning 16 in the USA and Europe (15 in Japan) and Marina winning 15 (16 in Japan). Something important to note here is that Pearl won 5 earlier Splatfests and Marina won 7 later ones in a row in Europe. So win streaks are nothing unusual for Splatoon. During Splatoon 2’s first year (2017-07-15 to 2018-07-21) Pearl won 9 Splatfests in the USA (11 in Europe, 6 in Japan) and Marina won 6 (4 in Europe, 9 in Japan). Both of them had a won multiple Fests in succession: Pearl won 5 in Europe and Marina won 6 in Japan. Now compare this to Splatoon 3’s 9 Splatfests (excluding the world premiere), Shiver has won 6 (5 in a row), Frye won 1 and Big Man 2.

Splatoon 2’s Splatfest runtime went from 2017 to 2019 (excluding the 4 Fests from 2020-2021). If Splatoon 3 will have a similar runtime of around 2 years, it means that Shiver has won the majority of Splatfests already. It is also important so mention that Splatoon 3 could possibly have less Splatfests than its predecessor due to Big Run taking up 3 to 4 months of the year.

I believe the cause for outrage in Splatoon 3 is the fact that Shiver has won the majority of Fests despite there being 2 other options to choose from. Most times Shiver seems to have the most normal and logical answers in comparison to Big Man and especially Frye. A good example of this would be the ice cream Fest. Whereas Big Man and Frye had more unique and less popular flavors, Shiver’s team was vanilla, a very basic and common ice cream flavor. Something similar was the case during the latest Splatfest. For a majority of players Shiver takes on the role of the leader, as she is in charge of beginning and ending the Anarchy Splatcast and she announces each Splatfest. However, Frye and Big Man are leaders in their own way, as Frye takes on the role of the leader during the story mode and Big Man is Deep Cut’s lyricist and producer. These things are not as prominent as the Splatcast announcements every two hours though and thus make her a more obvious leader.

On top of this, many consider the asked questions faulty or unclear. Instead of asking a subjective question the dialogue implies that the player should choose more objectively. An example would be the Money vs. Fame vs. Love Splatfest, where instead of questioning “What’s more important to you?” the game simply asked “What's most important in life?”, which, for most, is money. Other times players picked their team because of the ink color or other factors, like a higher chance of winning and because they prefer one idol over the other, which, in most cases, is Shiver. The Nessie vs. Aliens vs. Bigfoot and the Power vs. Wisdom vs. Courage Splatfests come to mind. In relation to the latest fest, a lot of people interpreted the question based on the anarchy poisons and voted with this information in mind whereas others simply voted for their favorite idol.

The most important reason for Shiver’s latest win streak is due to Splatfests not being regional anymore. Instead of Japan, Europe and the USA voting for their favorite option separately, all player votes and battle results are combined, which means that some regions have an advantage. It comes to no surprise that most players are Japanese, as the game sold 3.45 million units* in the first three days of release in Japan, which makes it the fastest-selling Switch game in Japan. Keep in mind that Splatoon 3 sold 10.67 million units* worldwide as of March 31, 2023, making the Japanese player base at least one third of all players. As a majority of the player base is Japanese, it means that their choices make up a big part of the overall votes. This is reflected in the chocolate Splatfest results, as the Japanese holiday, White Day, usually involves giving gifts like white chocolate to women and thus a big part of the community voted for white chocolate. This also explains Shivers winning streak, as she is very popular in Japan due to her representing Japanese culture and as previously established, many just vote based on their favorite idol.

Though, Shiver’s popularity explains why she won by a landslide in the popularity voting, she also received a lot of clout, due to skilled players being on her team. So, Shiver didn’t just win by sheer numbers, as team Big Man won in the pro matches category, which requires some good players.

An easy way to fix the voting issue in the latest Splatfest would have been to have the idols vote for each other (Shiver votes for Frye, Frye for Big Man and Big Man for Shiver for example), which would not only have made the Fest a lot fairer, but it would have also shown the bond between the members of Deep Cut. I have also seen someone propose the idea that instead of making Splatfests regional again, the game could conceal which idol picked which team until halftime so that players pick their team based on their own beliefs instead of the idols.

Regardless of whether or not the results have are rigged, I had a lot of fun playing this Splatfest. The number of mirror matches has decreased significantly and Tricolor matches were really enjoyable. I even got into and won my first 100x match. Each team did their best and I can understand why this is upsetting to so many players, but this last year with Splatoon 3 has been wonderful and I hope it will only improve over the next few years. Happy one year anniversary to Splatoon 3 and Deep Cut! I can’t wait to see what Splatfests will await us in the next year of this game.

Stay fresh and thank you for reading!

Also a quick side note: It seems spawn camping was particularly bad this months Splatfest. I know everyone wants their team to win, but please don’t ruin other people’s fun.

Sources:

* https://www.nintendolife.com/features/why-is-splatoon-so-popular-in-japan#:~:text=And%20now%20with%20Splatoon%203,a%20generation%20of%20Japanese%20gamers.

* https://www.statista.com/statistics/1332331/splatoon-3-units-sold/

#splatoon #splatoon 3 #splatfest #splatoon 3 anniversary

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